The latest research progress in antiviral drug screening

The screening of antiviral drugs is an important research direction in the fields of medicine and biology. With the advancement of technology and the deepening of virology research, new research progress is constantly being made in this field. Here is an overview of the latest research progress in antiviral drug screening:
one、 Discovery of new antiviral drug targets
Coronavirus N protein:
Research background: The N protein of coronaviruses such as COVID-19 plays a key role in the virus life cycle, and its structure is relatively conservative in the evolution process. It is an ideal target for developing broad-spectrum antiviral drugs.
Research progress: Professor Huang Yuanyu’s team from the Institute of Frontier Interdisciplinary Sciences at Beijing Institute of Technology has used CE Based SELEX technology to screen high affinity and specific nucleic acid aptamers. These aptamers can bind to N proteins and block the virus assembly process, demonstrating potential broad-spectrum antiviral activity (source: Beijing Institute of Technology).
Other viral proteins:
With the deepening of research on various viruses, scientists continue to discover new viral proteins as targets for antiviral drugs, such as the neuraminidase of influenza virus and the reverse transcriptase of HIV virus.
two、 Application of high-throughput screening technology
Combining mRNA immunization with high-throughput sequencing:
Research case: School of Pharmacy of Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology cooperated to screen monoclonal antibodies using mRNA as immunogen, and quickly identified antibodies against monkeypox virus A29L by combining high-throughput sequencing technology of a single B cell.
Technical advantages: This method not only improves the efficiency of antibody screening, but also avoids the complexity and defects of traditional protein immunity.
Automated screening platform:
The development of automated screening platforms has made large-scale screening of antiviral drugs possible. By integrating multiple experimental techniques and data analysis methods, the antiviral activity of a large number of compounds can be quickly evaluated.
three、 Development of nucleic acid based therapeutic agents
Nucleic acid aptamer:
Nucleic acid aptamers are single stranded DNA or RNA molecules selected through SELEX technology that can specifically bind to target molecules. They have the advantages of fast development, high targeting specificity, and few side effects, showing great potential in antiviral therapy.
As mentioned earlier, significant progress has been made in the research of nucleic acid aptamers targeting the coronavirus N protein.
MRNA vaccines and therapies:
MRNA vaccines and therapies induce specific immune responses in the body by delivering mRNA encoding antigen proteins, thereby preventing or treating viral infections. This method has achieved remarkable success in the research and development of COVID-19 vaccine, and is expected to be applied to the treatment of other viral diseases.
four、 Challenges and Prospects of Antiviral Drug Development
Challenge:
The development of antiviral drugs faces many challenges, including virus mutations leading to drug failure, drug resistance, long development cycles, and high costs.
In addition, the biological differences between different viruses also increase the complexity of antiviral drug development.
Prospect:
With the advancement of technology and the deepening of interdisciplinary research, the development of antiviral drugs will move towards more innovative, efficient, and specific directions.
The emergence of new antiviral strategies such as gene therapy and cell therapy provides new possibilities for treating novel viruses.
In summary, the latest research progress in antiviral drug screening covers multiple aspects, including the discovery of novel targets, the application of high-throughput screening techniques, the development of nucleic acid based therapeutic agents, and the challenges and prospects faced. These advances provide strong support for the development of antiviral drugs and are expected to make important contributions to global public health security.